Refrigerator and door thereof

ABSTRACT

A door handle includes a front surface part and a side surface part provided on an inner side chassis forming one side surface of a refrigerator door in the longitudinal direction, an inclined plane part formed between the front surface part and the side surface part in the longitudinal direction, a handle part formed on the inclined plane part so as not to be deviated from the inclined plane part, and a handle member provided with an opening formed in a shape corresponding to that of the handle part, and connected to the handle part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2010-0043091, filed on May 7, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a refrigerator with a door handle having improvedheat insulating performance and assembly efficiency.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, a refrigerator is an apparatus which stores articles in afresh state for a long time using cold air supplied to the insides ofstorage chambers. Such a refrigerator includes the storage chambers,front surfaces of which are opened so as to receive articles, and doorsto open and close the storage chambers are installed at the frontsurfaces of the storage chambers. Here, the doors are generally hingedto a main body of the refrigerator, and are rotated to open and closethe storage chambers. Further, door handles allowing a user to easilyopen and close the doors are provided on outer surfaces of the doors.

Door handles are divided into a protruded type in which a door handle isconnected to a refrigerator door in a protruded shape, and a hidden typein which a recess serving as a door handle is formed on a refrigeratordoor. The hidden type door handle improves user convenience, spaceefficiency, and an external appearance of a refrigerator, compared withthe protruded type door handle.

However, in the conventional hidden type door handle, the recessextended in the longitudinal direction is formed on a side surface ofthe refrigerator door and thus heat insulating performance is lowered,and the inner side surface of the refrigerator door is formed in acomplicated shape and assembly efficiency of the door is lowered.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect to provide a door handle which is formed onan inner side surface of a refrigerator door to improve heat insulatingperformance and assembly efficiency, and a refrigerator having the doorhandle.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect, a door handle of a refrigerator includesa front surface part and a side surface part provided on an inner sidechassis forming one side surface of a refrigerator door in thelongitudinal direction, an inclined plane part formed between the frontsurface part and the side surface part in the longitudinal direction, ahandle part formed on the inclined plane part so as not to be deviatedfrom the inclined plane part, and a handle member provided with anopening formed in a shape corresponding to that of the handle part, andconnected to the handle part.

The inclined plane part may be extended from one end to the other end ofthe inner side chassis in the longitudinal direction.

The opening may not be protruded upwardly from the inclined plane part.

The handle part may include the longitudinal central portion of theinner side chassis, and be formed in longitudinal direction.

The door handle may further include a fixing plate disposed on the rearsurface of the inclined plane part to closely fix the handle member tothe handle part.

In accordance with another aspect, a door of a refrigerator includes adoor plate provided with a front surface part and a side surface part ofthe door, an inclined plane part formed between the front surface partand the side surface part in the longitudinal direction, and a handlepart formed on the inclined plane part so as not to be deviated from theinclined plane part.

The handle part may be formed by depressing the inclined plane parttoward the inside of the door to a designated depth.

The door may further include a handle member provided with an openingformed in a shape corresponding to that of the handle part, andconnected to the handle part.

The opening may not be protruded upwardly from the inclined plane part.

The door may further include a fixing plate disposed on the rear surfaceof the inclined plane part to closely fix the handle member to thehandle part.

The door may further include a case bridge disposed within the door.

In accordance with a further aspect, a refrigerator includes a mainbody, a first door and a second door hinged to the main body andhorizontally spaced from each other at a designated interval such thatinner side parts thereof are opposite to each other, a first inclinedplane part formed between a front surface part and the inner sidesurface part of the first door in the longitudinal direction, a secondinclined plane part formed between a front surface part and the innerside surface part of the second door in the longitudinal direction, afirst handle part formed on the first inclined plane part, and a secondhandle part formed on the second inclined plane part.

The first handle part and the second handle part may be formed in acorresponding shape and located so as to be symmetrical to each other.

The refrigerator may further include a home bar door formed on the firstdoor, and the first handle part may be formed to have a lengthcorresponding to that of the home bar door and be located at a heightcorresponding to that of the home bar door.

The refrigerator may further include a handle member provided with anopening formed in a shape corresponding to that of the first handlepart, and connected to the first handle part.

The handle member may be connected to the first handle part without aheight difference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of theembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of arefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a configuration of a door of therefrigerator in accordance with the embodiment;

FIG. 3A is an exploded perspective view of the door of the refrigeratorin accordance with the embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view illustrating a door plate in accordancewith another embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a door handle of arefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the door handle of the refrigerator, takenalong the line I-I of FIG. 3A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall configuration of arefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator in accordance with this embodimentincludes a main body 10, the front surface of which is opened,horizontally divided into a first storage chamber 11 and a secondstorage chamber 12 to store food, a first door 20 hinged to the mainbody 10 to open and close the first storage chamber 11, and a seconddoor 30 hinged to the main body 10 to open and close the second storagechamber 12. A home bar door 31 is mounted on at least one of the firstdoor 20 and the second door 30.

Here, the first door 20 and the second door 30 are horizontally disposedat a designated interval. Such an interval is provided so as to preventthe first door 20 and the second door 30 from interfering with eachother's movements when the first door 20 and the second door 30 areopened simultaneously.

Hereinafter, an internal structure of the door 20 or 30 will bedescribed. Here, the internal structure of only the first door 20 willbe described, and the internal structure of the second door 30 is thesame as that of the first door 20 and thus a detailed descriptionthereof will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a configuration of a door of therefrigerator in accordance with the embodiment of the present invention,FIG. 3A is an exploded perspective view of the door of the refrigeratorin accordance with the embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a perspective viewillustrating a door plate in accordance with another embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 3B, the door 20 is formed by assembling a rearpanel 21, a front panel 24, an upper cap 22, a lower cap 25, an outerside chassis 23, and an inner side chassis 40. The front panel 24 may bemade of tempered glass.

The outer side chassis 23 is connected to one side surface of the rearpanel 21 in the forward direction, and the inner side chassis 40 isconnected to the other side surface of the rear panel 21 in the forwarddirection. Then, the front panel 24 is connected to the outer sidechassis 23 and the inner side chassis 40, and the upper cap 22 and thelower cap 25 corresponding to upper and lower lids are respectivelyconnected to upper and lower portions of the rear panel 21, the outerside chassis 23, the inner side chassis 40, and the front panel 24.Here, a hinge structure for connection with the main body 10 is disposedaround the outer side chassis 23, and the door 20 is rotated about theouter side chassis 23 and thus is opened and closed. The respectiveparts forming the door 20 are separately manufactured and then areassembled, thereby improving productivity of the door 20.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, the front panel 24 and the inner sidechassis 40 are not separately formed, but may be formed integrally. Inthis case, a door plate 80 forming the front surface and the inner sidesurface of the door 20 is integrally manufactured by bending steel orthrough injection molding. The door plate 80 includes a front surfacepart 81, a side surface part 82, and an inclined plane part 83, and ahandle part 84 is formed on the inclined plane part 83. A description ofthe door plate 80 will be substituted by a description of the inner sidechassis 40, which will be given later.

The inside of the door 20 is filled with a heat insulating material (notshown) so as to insulate the inside of the storage chamber 11 from heatat the outside of the door 20.

A case bridge 26 to prevent deformation of the door 20 is installed inthe door 20. One end of the case bridge 26 is connected to the outerside chassis 23, and the other end of the case bridge 26 is connected tothe inner side chassis 40, thereby reinforcing rigidity of the door 20.

Hereinafter, an internal structure of a door handle of the refrigeratorwill be described.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a door handle of arefrigerator in accordance with one embodiment, and FIG. 5 is asectional view of the door handle of the refrigerator, taken along theline I-I of FIG. 3A.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the inner side chassis 40 includes a frontsurface part 41 and a side surface part 42 disposed on the front surfaceof the door 20. The front surface part 41 and the side surface part 42are extended from one longitudinal end to the other longitudinal end ofthe inner side chassis 40.

The inclined plane part 43 is formed between the front surface part 41and the side surface part 42 in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, auser may recognize the inclined plane part 43 from the front surface ofthe refrigerator. Although the inclined plane part 43 may be formed on apart of the inner side chassis 40 in the longitudinal direction, theinclined plane part 43 in this embodiment is extended from one end tothe other end of the inner side chassis 40 in the same manner as thefront surface part 41 and the side surface part 42. Here, the inclinedplane part 43 is connected to the front surface part 41 and the sidesurface part 42 at designated angles, respectively.

The inner side chassis 40 is connected with one side surface of thefront panel 24, and thus supports the front panel 24. For this purpose,a connection groove 46 is formed between the front surface part 41 andthe inclined plane part 43. The connection groove 46 is extended fromone end to the other end of the inner side chassis 40, and one overallside surface of the front panel 24 is connected with the inner sidechassis 40 through the connection groove 46. The side surface of thefront panel 24 is connected with the connection groove 46 in aninterference fit manner, and thus no separate fixing device is required.

A handle part 44 to rotate the door 20 so as to open the door 20 isformed on the inclined plane part 43. The handle part 44 is formed bycutting the inclined plane part 43 into a designated shape or bydepressing the inclined plane part 43 to a designated depth toward theinside of the door 20. If the handle part 44 is formed by the lattermethod, the inside of the door 20 may be hermetically sealed from theoutside of the door 20 without connection with a handle member 50, whichwill be described later.

The handle part 44 may be formed so as not to be deviated from theinclined plane part 43. That is, the maximum width of the handle part 44is smaller than the width of the inclined plane part 43. Since thehandle part 44 is located on the inclined plane part 43, a userrecognizes the handle part 44 from the front surface of therefrigerator. That is, since the handle part 44 is exposed to the frontsurface of the refrigerator, the user may more intuitively recognize anopening and closing method of the door 20.

The handle part 44 is formed on the inclined plane part 43 in thelongitudinal direction, and is located at the longitudinal centralportion of the door 20 so as to allow the user to easily open and closethe door 20. That is, the handle part 44 is disposed so as to includethe longitudinal central portion of the door 20. Further, the length ofthe handle part 44 has a designated value or more in consideration ofconvenience in operation of the door 20 by the user. Moreover, thehandle part 44 may be formed in a rectangular shape in consideration ofthe external appearance of the refrigerator.

When a home bar (not shown) is installed on the door 30, the home bardoor 31 is mounted on the front surface of the door 30. In considerationof the external appearance of the refrigerator, the handle part 44 mayhave a length corresponding to that of the home bar door 31 and belocated at a height corresponding to that of the home bar door 31.

The handle part 44 is formed on each of the first door 20 and the seconddoor 30. In consideration of the external appearance of therefrigerator, the two handle parts 44 formed on the first door 20 andthe second door 30 may have the same shape and be located at positionssymmetrical to each other with respect to a gap between the first door20 and the second door 30.

The handle member 50 is connected to the handle part 44. An opening 51corresponding to the shape of the handle part 44 is formed on the handlemember 50. Here, the handle member 50 is inserted into the handle part44 by more than a designated depth such that a user pulls the handlemember 50 through the opening 51 to open the first door 20 or the seconddoor 30. If the handle part 44 is formed by cutting the inclined planepart 43 into a designated shape, the inside of the door 20 may behermetically sealed from the outside of the door 20 by connecting thehandle member 50 to the handle part 44.

The opening 51 has the same shape as that of the handle part 44 so as toallow the handle member 50 to be closely connected to the handle part44.

When the handle member 50 is connected to the handle part 44, theopening 51 does not protruded upwardly from the inclined plane part 43.That is, the handle member 50 is connected to the handle part 44 withouta height difference between the opening 51 and the inclined plane part43. A protrusion 52 is formed along the edge of the opening 51 of thehandle member 50, and a receipt groove 45 corresponding to the shape ofthe protrusion 52 is formed along the edge of the handle part 44. Thehandle member 50 may be stably connected to the handle part 44 byseating the protrusion 52 on the receipt groove 45.

Further, a fixing plate 60 is provided to closely connect the handlemember 50 to the handle part 44 and to maintain the connection statethereof. The fixing plate 60 is connected with the inner side chassis 40in the inside of the door 20 or 30 and connected to the handle member 50simultaneously, thereby fixing the handle member 50 to the handle part44. Here, at least one through hole 61 is formed through the fixingplate 60, and a screw hole 53 is provided on the handle member 50 at aposition corresponding to the through hole 61. At least one screw 70 isfastened to the screw hole 53 via the through hole 61.

As is apparent from the above description, a door handle in accordancewith one embodiment reduces a surface area occupied thereby, comparedwith a conventional hidden type door handle, thereby minimizingdeterioration of heat insulating performance. Further, the door handlemay be easily seen from the front surface of a refrigerator, therebyincreasing convenience in use.

Further, the door handle in accordance with the embodiment allows aninner side chassis of a refrigerator door to have a simple shape,thereby improving assembly efficiency of the refrigerator door.Moreover, the handle door is not protruded to the outside of therefrigerator, thereby improving an external design of the refrigeratoras well as preventing damage to the door handle caused by externalimpact.

Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would beappreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made inthese embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit ofthe invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and theirequivalents.

1. A door handle of a refrigerator comprising: a front surface part anda side surface part provided on an inner side chassis forming one sidesurface of a refrigerator door in the longitudinal direction; aninclined plane part formed between the front surface part and the sidesurface part in the longitudinal direction; a handle part formed on theinclined plane part so as not to be deviated from the inclined planepart; and a handle member provided with an opening formed in a shapecorresponding to that of the handle part, and connected to the handlepart.
 2. The door handle according to claim 1, wherein the inclinedplane part is extended from one end to the other end of the inner sidechassis in the longitudinal direction.
 3. The door handle according toclaim 1, wherein the opening is not protruded upwardly from the inclinedplane part.
 4. The door handle according to claim 1, wherein the handlepart includes the longitudinal central portion of the inner sidechassis, and is formed in longitudinal direction.
 5. The door handleaccording to claim 1, further comprising a fixing plate disposed on therear surface of the inclined plane part to closely fix the handle memberto the handle part.
 6. A door of a refrigerator comprising: a door plateprovided with a front surface part and a side surface part of the door;an inclined plane part formed between the front surface part and theside surface part in the longitudinal direction; and a handle partformed on the inclined plane part so as not to be deviated from theinclined plane part.
 7. The door according to claim 6, wherein thehandle part is formed by depressing the inclined plane part toward theinside of the door to a designated depth.
 8. The door according to claim6, further comprising a handle member provided with an opening formed ina shape corresponding to that of the handle part, and connected to thehandle part.
 9. The door according to claim 8, wherein the opening isnot protruded upwardly from the inclined plane part.
 10. The dooraccording to claim 8, further comprising a fixing plate disposed on therear surface of the inclined plane part to closely fix the handle memberto the handle part.
 11. The door according to claim 6, furthercomprising a case bridge disposed within the door.
 12. A refrigeratorcomprising: a main body; a first door and a second door hinged to themain body and horizontally spaced from each other at a designatedinterval such that inner side parts thereof are opposite to each other;a first inclined plane part formed between a front surface part and theinner side surface part of the first door in the longitudinal direction;a second inclined plane'part formed between a front surface part and theinner side surface part of the second door in the longitudinaldirection; a first handle part formed on the first inclined plane part;and a second handle part formed on the second inclined plane part. 13.The refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the first handle partand the second handle part are formed in a corresponding shape andlocated so as to be symmetrical to each other.
 14. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 12, further comprising a home bar door formed on thefirst door, wherein the first handle part is formed to have a lengthcorresponding to that of the home bar door and is located at a heightcorresponding to that of the home bar door.
 15. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 12, further comprising a handle member provided withan opening formed in a shape corresponding to that of the first handlepart, and connected to the first handle part.
 16. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 15, wherein the handle member is connected to thefirst handle part without a height difference.
 17. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 15, wherein when the handle member is connected tothe first handle part, the opening does not protrude upwardly from thefirst inclined plane part.
 18. The refrigerator according to claim 15,further comprising: a protrusion formed along the edge of the opening ofthe handle member; and a receipt groove corresponding to the shape ofthe protrusion formed along the edge of the first handle part, whereinthe handle member is connected to the handle part by seating theprotrusion on the receipt groove.
 19. The refrigerator according toclaim 15, further comprising a fixing plate to connect the handle memberto the first handle part.